Cal's Kennan Allen makes sick TD catch

Updated 12:11 am, Sunday, September 30, 2012

Keenan Allen became sick during Cal's 27-17 loss to Arizona State on Saturday, but it had nothing to do with the quality of his team's play.

Allen, Cal's premier wide receiver, missed parts of the second and third quarters with a stomach illness before he sought medical aid.

"I've been sick for the last two days," Allen said. "I started throwing up on the sideline. I had to come in for treatment. ... I knew I was going to come back in the game. I had to get that feeling out of my stomach."

Despite his sour stomach, Allen had four receptions for 79 yards, including a toe-dragging touchdown catch of 10 yards in the fourth quarter that cut the deficit to 20-17 with 9:33 to go.

Officials initially ruled that Allen did not get a foot down in the southeast corner of the end zone, but the play was reviewed and the ruling overturned in Cal's favor.

Replays showed that Allen just did scrape his right toe on the surface of the end zone before his left foot came down out of bounds. Although on the next level he'll need to get two feet down, plays such as this define Allen's talent as a future NFL wideout.

For now, though, he is stuck as a brilliant player on a college team going nowhere - reason enough to make an elite player sick.

In what is probably his last season at Cal before he declares for the NFL draft, Allen has 177 career receptions, fourth in school history. Bobby Shawis in third on the career list with 180.

Injury update: Outside linebacker Brennan Scarlettmissed even more game time than Allen with what coach Jeff Tedfordsaid was probably a broken hand. Scarlett was out the entire third quarter and did not return until five minutes remained in the game. He finished with five tackles, two for losses, and one sack.

New starter: Sophomore safety Avery Sebastiangot the first start of his career when he replaced Alex Loganin the lineup. Sebastian made the most of his time on the field, too, as he led the Bears with 15 tackles, nine solo.

"The coaches have been telling me to be ready this entire year," said Sebastian, who is from McDonough, Ga. "I'm glad the coaches have faith in me."

Briefly: Inside linebacker Nick Forbesblocked an Arizona State field-goal try in the fourth quarter. It was Cal's first blocked field goal since the 2008 season.